By Matt Ward

Efforts to limit the nighttime glow in and around Fredericksburg will be delayed as the Fredericksburg City Council opted to postpone action on an outdoor lighting ordinance for an additional 30 days.

A vote to pass the ordinance during Mondays regular meeting failed 3-2 with Mayor Jeryl Hoover and council members Tim Dooley and Graham Pearson opposed.

This is about getting it better and getting it right and not turning down the issue completely, Hoover said. I think its a good idea to head toward the Dark Skies Initiative. I dont know enough about the consequences of city action to know whether or not I would be making a good vote tonight on that.

The council agreed that they would like to reconsider the ordinance once all the proposed changes were written into the document.

I am becoming a believer in what the initiative suggests as an outcome, Hoover said, but how we get there is what Im talking about, to do it in a responsible way with regard to all the taxpayers who are not here who dont care as much as some of you do.

Commercial lighting

The primary focus of the ordinance would be on new commercial establishments and does not regulate residential lighting.

Existing lighting would be deemed as nonconforming, but would not be required to come into compliance unless the business applied for a conditional use permit, subdivision permit or site plan permit.

Recent revisions have included a drop-dead date of 10 years for retrofitting existing lighting for all businesses.

The rest is here:
'Dark sky' lighting rules postponed

Richmond, Virginia (PRWEB) May 05, 2014

Outdoor Living Brands, World Class Franchisor home to Archadeck Outdoor Living, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, Mosquito Squad and Renew Crew located in Richmond, Virginia announced Friday, May 2nd that they would be doubling their VetFran discounts as a special salute to Military Appreciation Month.

Shemar Pucel, Franchise Recruitment Consultant with Outdoor Living Brands stated, It has been a great honor to assist in the development and launch of our veteran awareness program. We have been honored to welcome three new veteran franchisees to our family this year adding to our growing family of franchisees. Currently we have over 300 franchisees across all four brands and all four branches of the armed forces. We are very proud to say that well over 20% of our franchisees are retired or active duty members of the military. Doubling our VetFran discount during military appreciation month is one way are saying thank you to our nation's heroes.

In addition to doubling the VetFran discount, Outdoor Living Brands franchise recruitment teams are joining forces with Recruit Military by attending two of their educational career events.

On May 15th, the team will be on site in Norfolk, Virginia attending Recruit Militarys fair at the Nauticus - Half Moone Cruise & Celebration Center from 11:00 a.m. 3:00 p.m.

On May 29th, the team will be in Baltimore, MD attending Recruit Militarys fair at M&T Bank Stadium from 11:00 a.m. 3:00 p.m.

We have seen great success in working with the teams at Recruit Military and VetFran. I had the pleasure of meeting Chuck Rich (Active Duty Air Force Reservist and current owner of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of North East Atlanta) while attending the Recruit Military fair in Atlanta and look forward to welcoming and assisting more veterans and their families realize their dream of business ownership as the transition to civilian life. Working with the IFA and VetFran has allowed us the opportunity to assist our valued heroes in many ways and we certainly look forward to continuing our efforts in the years to come, said Shemar Pucel.

About Outdoor Living Brands Outdoor Living Brands offers exciting franchise opportunities in the growing outdoor living niche. Our multiple, complementary franchise businesses create synergies and cross-promotional opportunities designed to enhance the operational and financial horizons of all our franchisees.

Currently, Outdoor Living Brands offers four franchise business models:

Archadeck - The worlds leading designer and builder of outdoor living spaces such as decks, screened porches, open porches, sunrooms, outdoor kitchens and outdoor fireplaces, consistently named one of the Top 500 Remodelers in North America;

Link:
Outdoor Living Brands Doubles VetFran Discounts for Veterans for Military Appreciation Month

At my house, I cook pretty much for one reason: I get hungry.

If I didn't need to eat, and didn't actually like to eat, I would turn my kitchen into something more interesting, like an ice rink or a skydiving arena or a petting zoo, which would all be way more fun than a place to make a meal.

Apparently, I'm a minority of one. Across America, kitchens are the spaces where home improvers get the most carried away. So much so that having one fabulous kitchen indoors isn't enough anymore. People are creating serious I mean, restaurant-quality-serious kitchens outside. They have everything built in but waiters.

Some of you may recall that I've had homes in my past that had fancy outdoor cooking areas, with men who could use them. But in my current single-living situation, it's just me and my George Foreman Grill.

George and I get along pretty well, as couples go, although, he can move a little faster than I like, and he only has two temperatures: on or off. But he's at home indoors and out, and is highly portable, remarkably reliable, low-maintenance and he cleans up well.

I am grateful for George. I am also grateful for my friends who like to cook. I mean, seriously cook, as in, make bacon from scratch. They like to share their mad cooking skills, and when they do, I salivate so much I put the dogs to shame. (And they still invite me back, maybe out of pity. I mean, they know about me and George.)

These friends also have amazing outdoor kitchens and eating areas, which just keep getting better, I've noticed.

They're sprouting pizza ovens.

To find out what was up with that, I called Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet, partly because the name is just so fun to say, but also because the Chicago-based company has been designing, equipping and building outdoor kitchens all over the country for decades.

I get Russ Faulk, vice president of design, on the phone. He confirms that the trend toward building or expanding outdoor kitchens is not just my imagination.

See the original post here:
Outdoor kitchens: 10 things you need to make yours fabulous

Dear Jim: I want to improve my outdoor lighting for better security and when entertaining guests. I want to do it efficiently and do some of the work myself to lower the cost. What are some outdoor lighting tips? Tom G.

Dear Tom: It is important to plan your outdoor lighting scheme or it may increase your electric bills significantly. Keep in mind that the best lighting plan for security is not always the best for entertaining. It would be wise to make two lighting layouts on different switches.

To calculate how much it costs to operate outdoor lights per day, first total the wattages of all the bulbs. Multiply this total by eight hours and then multiply by your electric rate (dollars per kilowatt-hour). Divide this by 10 to get the number of cents per day. You might be surprised at the total.

People often think that brighter lights provide better security. Actually lower lighting levels are more effective. This is because it is difficult for the human eye to quickly adjust from a very bright area to a darker area. If the lighting is less bright, it is often easier to see and pick up movement in the darker areas where someone might be hiding.

Walk around your house and look for spots where someone might hide that may need some security lighting.

Do this at night because street lights or neighbors lights might already provide adequate brightness.

Try to minimize light pollution by using only as much brightness as is necessary.

CFL (compact fluorescent lights) and LED (light emitting diodes) produce much more light output per watt than standard incandescent bulbs.

For example, an L22 array LED fixture uses less than 25 watts to produce the same light output as a 100-watt incandescent bulb.

LEDs are not affected by cold temperatures. CFLs take a little time to reach full brightness.

See the article here:
Pick lights based on purposes

The Garden Gurus - Outdoor lighting
If you feel like to want to maximize your outdoor space by using it throughout the day and well into the night, feature lighting is the way to go. Here are t...

By: The Garden Gurus TV

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The Garden Gurus - Outdoor lighting - Video

Creative Outdoor Lighting
http://bangalore.shriramproperties.com/ Forget candles. These creative lighting ideas are a cheap and easy way to get your backyard beautiful for summer ente...

By: Shriram Properties

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Creative Outdoor Lighting - Video

You can stop looking over your shoulder fearing the return of another winter blast. It looks like were finally well into spring with summer on the way.

Whew!

Im sure some of you have practically forgotten what it even feels like to actually enjoy being outdoors for extended periods of time.

Now comes the time of year where you get to remind yourself.

If youre looking for new outdoor patio furniture to spruce up your outdoor spaces, youll definitely want to be on the lookout for these warm weather trends:

Bright Colors For Small Spaces

In truth, many people will be wanting bright colors because they are so energizing.

And after months and months of being stuck indoors, buried under feet of snow, youll want all the energy you can get.

Theres another benefit to buying outdoor furniture in bright colors: They can really help you make smaller outdoor spaces bigger and lend loads them of personality.

Sky Blues And Earth Tones

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Outdoor Patio Furniture: Hot Summer Trends

Prairie Village ks Rock Landscape Ideas 816-500-4198
Prairie Village ks http://pvkansas.com/ http://www.anthonystonemasonry.com/ Rock Landscape Ideas 816-500-4198 Rock Landscape Ideas.Rock Landscape Ideas Brookside Mo/ KANSAS CITY AREA Landscape...

By: Anthony Reyes

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Prairie Village ks Rock Landscape Ideas 816-500-4198 - Video

DIY Network host Jay Baker #39;s Talks the Perfect Lawn Mower and Outdoor Lighting
DIY Network host Jay Baker dishes on finding the perfect lawn mower and keeping it in tip top shape and outdoor lighting.

By: Candace Rose

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DIY Network host Jay Baker's Talks the Perfect Lawn Mower and Outdoor Lighting - Video

St Louis Nitetime Decor Outdoor Lighting Testimonial Video Max St Charles, MO
http://www.stlouisnitetimedecor.com A testimonial video from Charles "Max" E Million in St. Charles. MO. In this video max speaks about his experience with St. Loui...

By: St. Louis Nitetime Decor

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St Louis Nitetime Decor Outdoor Lighting Testimonial Video Max St Charles, MO - Video